"I Do See Color" weekly newsletter: October 20, 2022
Weekly newsletter 3: Combination of race- and culture-related posts from "We Need to Talk," "I Do See Color," "BlackTechLogy" and "Window Shopping"
Welcome to the “I Do See Color” newsletter (with a bonus section of two first-person interviews called “Deuces”).
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Now let’s get into the weekly newsletter!
Each week, eight* carefully selected posts will be chosen, which focus on culture, politics, health and race from a black (wo)man’s perspective.
NEW! 1. Correcting Miscommunications: Language Barriers With Tenants and Realtors
America is a melting pot not just of people but languages too. Outside of English, there are 17 languages spoken regularly in the United States. In order of popularity, the top 10 are Spanish, Italian, German, French, Polish, Chinese, Tagalog, Greek, Portuguese and Japanese, reports the Census.
Would it make sense for Realtors and landlords to become familiar with any or all of the local languages above to be able to network with a larger rental audience? Probably. Being a multilingual real estate professional can certainly help to connect with a wider clientele.
NEW! 2. “Drink Champs”: Stop blaming Kanye’s self-hatred and racism on liquor ~ Without the liquor and the weed, Ye STILL made his George Floyd comment
Whiskey sour. It’s my go-to. No matter what other drink is given to me, I sip a bit, lose interest in it and ask the bartender (or host) to get me another whiskey sour. I will “fugg up” your dance floor. I will go up to that one guy who I’d been quietly eyeing from afar and tell him he’s “cute as hell.” I will randomly hug people and tell them I love them. What I won’t do is go off on a tangent about Jewish people, say Trevor Noah isn’t black (or anybody of African descent who can walk into their childhood home or point their African relatives out on the street) or ignore the entire Derek Chauvin trial to say George Floyd died from Fentanyl — or cancer.
3. Make your landlord rich or find a permanent home ~ The “American” question I was asked that made me question public school and black wealth
“You are from America, aren’t you?” he asked, gazing down at me. I sat on a garden stone and leaned my back against the bricks surrounding the outside of my kitchen window.
“Born and raised in Chicago, south side,” I responded, mildly irritated that my citizenship was being questioned. “Why did you ask me that?”
“I don’t understand why you weren’t trying to buy property years ago,” he said. “That’s what I always knew about America. Buy homes. Get money. I thought everybody in America did that.”
4. When bilingualism becomes a threat ~ Duke faculty was dead wrong for telling Chinese students not to speak Chinese
News regarding the Duke University professor who warned Chinese students not to speak in their native language made me reflect on some of my worst college memories. I attended a university for a few classes to earn a certificate in Chicago Manual Style editing. My employer at the time was paying for the series of courses while I was also in grad school at another university. But after a comment I heard from a professor telling a student to go “back to her own country,” I refused to return. I continued on with grad school courses but never stepped foot on the other university’s campus again.
5. “Black Love” picks up where JET Magazine’s wedding section left ~ Why OWN’s “Black Love” matters so much to African-American viewers
JET magazine lasted 63 years with wedding announcements in each issue. While I have mixed opinions regarding a woman’s need to marry, I’m happy as hell to see a woman who wants to be happily married get her wish. And OWN TV’s “Black Love” does it bigger, better and blacker! The “Black Love” series, created by filmmakers Codie Elaine Oliver and Tommy Oliver, shows healthy, constructive conversations about well-known couples who met and married. Yes, they explore infidelity, family deaths, miscarriages, illnesses, addiction and abuse. But they also explore practical and positive ways to get over relationship humps — and that’s not with a load of security guards, and calling each other all kinds of n-words and bitches.
6. That “scientific study” that makes you hate your race ~ Brown-skinned girls, look past racism to own your beauty
A Japanese friend of mine was complaining about her wavy hair, her fuller cheeks and the larger shape of her eyes. She told me: “Monnie-chan, people always think I am Hawaiian, anything but Japanese.”
I shrugged and said, “What’s wrong with that? There are plenty of pretty Hawaiian women. That’s not an insult.” And my homegirl was very pretty.
She looked at me with the “tsk-tsk” face and said, “You just don’t understand Asian beauty.”
7. Black dog owners may have better memories ~ Own a pet for five years or more? Cognitive skills may improve for all
African-American pet owners may be in for an even bigger treat than having a four-legged, warm, friendly companion. It turns out black seniors can have a significant brain boost in cognitive skills, and their longtime pets (five years or more) may be the ones to credit.
8. Black homeowners, make sure your mortgage lender treats you humanely ~ How mystery shopping prepared me for housing discrimination
I almost didn’t buy my home. I was told I couldn’t afford it. I knew I wanted to move out of my condo rental after a terrible experience, but I thought it might be a long shot due to my student loans and car loan. Still, I tried anyway. My money obstacle ended up being neither of those expenses. Instead, my mortgage lender sent a group email saying I was at financial risk due to a Kohl’s credit card balance.
My first thought: “Are you kidding me? I went to two different undergraduate universities, graduated from an HBCU and changed my major three times in grad school, but Kohl’s was what was holding me back from being a homeowner?” I shrugged my shoulders and almost tapped out.
“Deuces” ~ “I Do See Color” newsletter’s bonus interviews:
1. MC Lyte still a rock in the rap industry
Inspired at age 11 by hip hop pioneers Salt n' Pepa, Lana Michele Moorer took on the alias Sparkle and had a rapping partner named Dazzle. But since she and her rapping partner attended different elementary schools and couldn't make regular contact, Sparkle set off on her own with a new name: MC Lyte.
2. Homegrown podcast: Meet Melvin Sims of Tenants Rights Group LLC ~ Step 5 to homeownership: Know your landlord-tenant rights
As a homeowner with a social circle of landlords, I’m torn on the topic of evictions. For 17 years, I was a renter. Now I’m a current condo owner and a condo board treasurer (and former president) who knows our bylaws stipulate collection of payments. My views on evictions are equivalent to a seesaw with an even weight on it; I see both sides. And I knew the right person to talk to for more info. Melvin Sims, a tenants-rights attorney I’d previously interviewed for CBS Chicago, had valuable insight on this issue. Join us as we talk about the Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance, the national eviction moratorium linked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, what the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has to say about tenant evictions, and how law firms like his are helping landlords and tenants.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote,” “Tickled,” “We Need To Talk” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
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